The council chambers are empty now, but on Nov. 13 all council members will be sworn in.

“The first meeting of council, we try to keep the agenda fairly limited,” said city clerk/solicitor Myron Gulka-Tiechko. “Obviously the focus is swearing in new members and formally receiving the election results, some other agenda items … and some development appeals board matters that are required by law to be provided to council in a certain timeline.”

He said all councillors, including the returning ones, need to be sworn in by a Saskatchewan provincial court judge. The first council meeting with business as usual is on Nov. 19.

New nameplates are made up for the two new councillors, Patrick Boyle and Candis Kirkpatrick, and will be up in council chambers later this week.

“It’s a system where the electoral success of council members basically determines their priority. So the people with the highest votes get to choose first where they want to sit,” said Gulka-Tiechko.

“For this year, all the four returning council members have chosen just to keep their existing seats and then councillors elect Boyle and Kirkpatrick were left with picking Coun. Coleman’s and Coun. Tolmie’s previous seats. So that’s where they’ll be seated.”

Since the four returning members chose not to change seats, their existing nameplates will be re-used.

“Part of the agenda for the first normal meeting is to provide the mounted nameplates to the outgoing council members,” said Gulka-Tiechko. “Mayor Hagel and councillors Coleman and Tolmie will get their nameplates on plaques as a keepsake indicating what years they served on council.”